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The Waterbird Society Scientific Study and Conservation of the World's Waterbirds |
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The Waterbird Society Scientific Study and Conservation of the World's Waterbirds |
American
Bird Conservancy Headlines
| Fenthion Withdrawn | Step Back for Mute Swan Control | Resolution in Lake Apopka Bird Kill | Rats Threaten Alaskan Auklets | Loophole Leads to More Longline Albatross Kills | Austrailia Pursues Illegal Toothfish Pirates to the Ends of the Earth | Conservation Groups Team Up for $4 Million for Birds | FWS: Mountain Plover Not Threatened | South Korean Wetland Project Threatens Shorebirds | U.S. Albatross Now Threatened - Campaign Continues | FWS Ten-Year Plan for Birds | FWS Approves Depradation Order for Killing Cormorants | Birds in Brief |
ABC and its partners have achieved a major victory in the ongoing battle against the controversial pesticide fenthion. In March 2003, drug and chemical manufacturer Bayer announced its intention to voluntarily withdraw fenthion (used under the trade name Baytex) from the market. At the urging of ABC and its partners, EPA has now approved this withdrawal and has set a deadline for all sales to end by June 30, 2004, and all uses to end by November 30, 2004. For more than two years ABC has led a campaign to remove fenthion from the market due to its extreme toxicity to birds. In collaboration with Defenders of Wildlife and the Florida Wildlife Federation, ABC filed a law suit against EPA in 2002 (Bird Calls Vol. 6, No. 3), citing violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in the continued use of this highly toxic organophosphate pesticide, which is used to kill adult mosquitoes in four Florida counties. Fenthion has been implicated in the deaths of hundreds of birds in Florida including an endangered Piping Plover. All other counties in the United States have switched to less toxic alternatives. In the past, fenthion was sold for many different uses, including flea and tick shampoos for dogs, as well as its formulation to kill birds, marketed as the “Rid-a-Bird Perch.” However, these products were removed from the market due to concerns regarding human and animal health. “We applaud Bayer and EPA for this decision. There is simply no justification for using fenthion when safer, equally effective alternatives exist for controlling mosquitoes and protecting the health of people, animals and the environment,” said ABC’s Dr. Patti Bright. The three plaintiffs in the lawsuit have agreed to stay their case until the November 30, 2004 deadline. Should Bayer decide to sell the manufacturing rights to another company to begin producing the pesticide again, the groups have the ability to re-instate the action. Contact: Patti Bright, ABC.
Step Back for Mute Swan Control On September 17, FWS put a stop to the control of the alien Mute Swan by withdrawing all permits to kill the birds or addle their eggs. The Service has said it will not issue any new permits pending further review of the issue. This reversal followed a federal judge’s order that the State of Maryland stop killing Mute Swans in the Chesapeake Bay while a lawsuit brought by the animal rights group, The Fund for Animals, challenging the FWS-issued take permit was still pending (Bird Calls Vol. 7, No. 2). The killing of Mute Swans has been controversial for the government - supported by bird and wildlife conservation groups, but opposed by animal rights organizations and some vocal Maryland residents. In late 2002, one local Marylander successfully pursued a case in the U.S. Court of Appeals that afforded protection to the Mute Swan under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a statute designed to protect America’s native species (Bird Calls Vol. 6, No. 1). In early July, the Service completed a “Final Environmental Assessment for the Management of Mute Swans,” that allowed for the take of up to 3,100 swans annually in the eastern United States and the issuance of depredation orders for egg addling and removal or sterilization of additional birds. The plan had been supported by 13 state wildlife agencies, 53 organizations (including ABC, Environmental Defense, Wildlife Management Institute, and Ducks Unlimited), and more than 2,600 individuals concerned with the damage that this species inflicts on native wildlife and habitats. The Mute Swan population in the Chesapeake Bay has grown from five escaped birds in 1962 to more than 4,000 today.These birds are aggressive towards other waterfowl and have contributed to the extirpation of the Black Skimmer and Least Tern from key breeding sites in the Chesapeake. In addition, the swan population consumes 10% of all submerged aquatic vegetation in the Chesapeake Bay, an essential food source for native migratory waterfowl. FWS is now in a position where it sanctions the hunting of native Tundra Swans (even allowing an accidental take of the rare Trumpeter Swan), but does not currently permit the take of introduced, rapidly increasing Mute Swans. Contact: Gerald Winegrad, ABC.
Resolution in Lake Apopka Bird Kill The Department of Justice has concluded its investigation into bird deaths at Lake Apopka in Florida, and reached an agreement with the St. Johns River Water Management District, the agency responsible for the die-offs. An estimated 676 birds, including American White Pelicans, Wood Storks, and Great-Blue Herons died in 1998 and 1999when they ate fish from the lake contaminated with organochlorine pollutants, including DDT and dieldrin. Following the Second World War, fertile farmland was created by draining part of Lake Apopka. Decades later, the St. Johns River Water Management District purchased much of this land as part of their program to restore the lake. However, a 1997 study showed the soil contained high residues of toxic pesticides, which had been regularly used on the farms prior to their cancellation by the EPA. Despite this knowledge, in 1998, the district re-flooded 14,000 acres of land, resulting in the release of the chemicals from the soil and the subsequent bird kills. As part of the agreement reached with the Department of Justice, the St. Johns District agreed to pay $90,000 to wildlife rehabilitators who worked to save the poisoned birds, and to pay FWS in excess of $50,000 to cover the costs of investigating the deaths and to fund two new studies, including one into DDT-related eggshell thinning. The District has also agreed to cooperate with FWS in the protection of Wood Storks at the recently purchased 9,000 acre Matanzas Marsh, arelatively undisturbed tract of land that is home to one of the largest Wood Stork colonies in Florida. They have further pledged to take steps to ensure that similar incidents do not happen again, including staff training and the development of an “Avian Protection Plan.” Contact: St. Johns Water Management District, (800) 451-7106.
The world’s largest colony of Least Auklets is under siege from introduced Norway rats. The colony, which currently numbers in excess of one million birds, is centered around Sirius Point on the island of Kiska. This is one of the most important sites for breeding seabirds in the Aleutian chain, and lies within the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, an ABC-designated globally Important Bird Area. The island also holds large numbers of Crested Auklets and other seabirds. Recent research has shown that Least Auklet nesting success has been significantly reduced, with less than one in ten eggs producing chicks to fledging because of rat predation. Population modeling by biologists has indicated that the currentlevel of predation, which includes adult birds as well as chicks, could eventually extirpate the entire colony. Rats are present on 21 of the larger Alaskan islands. They reached Kiska during the Second World War, gradually occupying the volcanic island’s 70,000 acres. The largest island to be successfully cleared of rats to date is the 29,300 acre Campbell Island, which lies approximately 400 miles south of New Zealand. However, FWS biologists hope to break this record by eventually clearing rats from the entire island of Kiska. To accomplish this task, thousands of pounds of rodenticide will likely have to be dropped by helicopter, costing more than one million dollars. An Environmental Impact Statement will also be needed and a public comment period will be required under the National Environmental Policy Act. Despite these hurdles, the future of Aleutian alcid colonies may depend on our ability to conduct future large scale rat eradications. Contact: Gerald Winegrad, ABC. Loophole Leads to More Longline Albatross Kills In August, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) violated the Endangered Species Act by authorizing longline fishing off California without analyzing the fishery’s impacts on endangered species. The court held that NMFS is required by law to conduct consultations to assess the potential impact of longlining on all six species of sea turtles found in U.S. waters, as well as on the Short-tailed Albatross. After the Hawaiian longline fishery for swordfish was shut down in November 1999 due to sea turtle bycatch, more than 30 longline vessels began landing their catch in southern California instead. The boats fish without restriction beyond the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone. ABC representatives and others met repeatedly with NMFS officials to urge the closing of this deadly loophole that led to the killing of 450 Black-footed and 17 Laysan Albatrosses from October 2001 to February2003, as well as numerous turtle deaths. NMFS responded in July by urging the Pacific Fishery Council to close the loophole and prohibit shallow-set swordfish longlines. However, the Council refused. The California mortality is in addition to the 7,886 albatrosses known to have been killed between 1993 and 2001 in Alaska and the 18,318 killed in Hawaii in approximately the same period. NMFS failed to adopt new regulations promised for the summer of 2002 that would greatly reduce the take of albatrosses and other seabirds in the Alaskan groundfish fishery. They also failed to collect any data on seabird bycatch in the Alaska halibut fishery, which consists of more than 1,700 vessels setting in excess of 25 million hooks. This is in violation of NMFS’ own National Plan of Action for Seabirds, requiring such data collection under a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization agreement. Contact: Gerald Winegrad, ABC.
Austrailia Pursues Illegal Toothfish Pirates to the Ends of the EarthA promise from the Australian Government to pursue illegal Patagonian toothfish poachers “to the ends of the Earth” was borne out this summer with the dramatic three-week chase by Australian customs officials across more than 4,000 miles of iceberg-ridden open ocean to capture the vessel Viarsa 1. The chase began when the boat was seen allegedly fishing for toothfish - often served in restaurants as Chilean seabass - within Australian waters in early August. The ship was finally seized with the help of a South African ice breaker and a British fisheries patrol vessel in waters known as the “Roaring Forties,” more than 2,000 miles south of Cape Town, South Africa. Illegal fishing for Patagonian toothfish has raised alarm bells in the fisheries, seabird, and marine mammal conservation communities. More than 80% of toothfish that ends up on sale around the world is thought to be illegally caught, placing the species at risk of extinction from over-fishing. Of grave concern is the number of albatrosses and other seabirds, as well asturtles, killed by the longline hooks that are set to catch fish (Bird Calls Vol. 5, No. 3). More than 276,000 seabirds have been killed over the last five years in this fishery, of which at least 40,500 were albatrosses. The capture of the pirate vessel, which was found to be carrying fish worth in excess of $3 million on the black market, was praised by the Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators, a group consisting of 27 member companies in ten countries. Further complicating the saga was the revelation that along with the fish, the Uruguay-flagged ship carried a Uruguayan Government scientific observer. The observer was later released back to his country after his government pledged full cooperation in the investigation, and to send him back to Australia for judicial proceedings. The captain and crew of the ship face jail if convicted, and the boat could be scuttled. Similar, though less dramatic captures of illegal vessels were made by the Australian government in 2001 and 2002, clearly demonstrating the country’s resolve on this issue. Contact: Gavin Shire, ABC. Conservation Groups Team Up for $4 Million for Birds ABC joined forces with more than 100 conservation organizations in urging Congressional appropriators to fully fund the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA). Leading national, regional, and local conservation and bird organizations signed a letter, pushing for full funding at $5 million in the FY 2004 Department of Interior budget. The House bill proposed the full $5 million but the Senate bill only proposed $3 million. The final decision, was left to conference committee, which compromised at $4 million, an increase of $1 million over last year. Demand massively outstripped available funding for both FY 2002 and 2003 NMBCA grants: the 440 grant requests submitted to FWS for projects that protect, restore, and manage habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife in Latin America and the Caribbean, totaled more than $175 million, chasing the available $3 million. The NMBCA requires that all money appropriated by Congress be met by a 3:1 ratio in matching funds. An ABC PolicyCouncil Resolution, adopted in 2002, proposed increasing the authorized cap to at least $20 million, and reducing the match radio from 3:1 to 1:1. Contact: Gerald Winegrad, ABC.
FWS: Mountain Plover Not Threatened On September 9, FWS withdrew its proposal to list the Mountain Plover as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The decision was based largely on data that FWS says show that the plover is more common on private farmland than was previously thought. Although the species depends on shortgrass prairie, a habitat type that has declined significantly since the eradication of the huge bison herds that grazed much of the West, the birds have been able to adapt in part to pastureland, cropland, sod farms, and other habitats similar to shortgrass prairie. FWS also cited new data indicating that black-tailed prairie dog towns, which provide habitat favored by Mountain Plovers, are more abundant than was originally thought. Conservation programs, such as the flagging of plover nests prior to tilling orplanting, and encouraging intensive grazing in plover nesting areas have also apparently helped the species. The Mountain Plover is restricted to North America, and its population is estimated at between 5,000 and 11,000 individuals. Multiple conservation partnerships involving federal and state agencies and conservation organizations are currently underway to improve plover nesting habitat on public and private lands. Regardless of its listing status, the Mountain Plover remains a species of conservation concern because of its small population and restricted habitat requirements. The species is also listed on the ABC Green List (see article P. 7) in the category of Highest Continental Concern. Contact: Bob Leachman, FWS, 970-243-2778.
South Korean Wetland Project Threatens Shorebirds The tidal flats at Saemangeum on the Yellow Sea Coast of South Korea are under threat from a barrage construction project that could destroy more than 80,000 acres of shorebird habitat. The wetland complex supports 27 species of shorebird inglobally significant numbers, including Alaskan-breeding Dunlin and Bar-tailed Godwits. Several of the species using Saemangeum on a regular basis are listed as threatened, including the Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Spotted Greenshank, and Saunder’s Gull. Additionally, more than 30% of the world’s Great Knots winter at the site. The construction project began in 1991 and has been consistently questioned by scientists and the public. In 2000, it was temporarily halted while an expert panel conducted an environmental review. The panel’s findings were not made public, but the project has since been restarted. One of the main reasons for the project was to create new rice fields, but in the intervening period, South Korea has developed a huge rice surplus. At a forthcoming court hearing, Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will defend the project against environmental groups. The groups claim that water in barrage lakes created to irrigate rice fields will be so polluted by industrial waste from the rivers that feed the area, that it will destroy the crops. ABC is working through the State Department to oppose the project. Contact: Mike Parr, ABC. U.S. Albatross Now Threatened – Campaign Continues The Laysan Albatross, which breeds in the United States on islands in the northwestern Hawaiian chain, has been listed as vulnerable for the first time under IUCN-World Conservation Union criteria. The species’ population has declined by more than 30% over the past decade, primarily due to mortality from longline fishing. The Black-footed Albatross also breeds in Hawaii. It was first listed as vulnerable in 2000, but has already been upgraded to endangered. This is based on an estimated future decline of more than 60% over the next 50 years if current rates of longline mortality are not reduced. ABC continues to press the U.S. Government to mandate measures to protect seabirds from longline fishing hooks, including the deployment of inexpensive bird-scaring devices (Bird Calls Vol. 4, No. 3) that have been shown, through extensive ocean trials, to almost eliminate bird mortality. A campaign, launched by ABC, has garnered thousands of public e-mail messages to decision-makers at NMFS and otheragencies that regulate longline fisheries. Speaking at the International Fisher’s Forum in Honolulu in November 2002, NMFS Director William Hogarth told representatives from 28 states and 18 countries that his e-mail had been flooded by more messages from concerned citizens on this issue than on any other. ABC has also now published its report “Sudden Death on the High Seas” in Chinese, in collaboration with Pacific Environment and a Chinese bird conservation group. China has one of the world’s largest longline fleets and this takes a high toll on pelagic birds. The report will be distributed to Chinese fishery, wildlife, and planning officials, as well as to Chinese conservationists. A Spanish version is also planned. Contact: Gerald Winegrad, ABC.
FWS is developing a new strategic plan for migratory birds that will set the course for the agency’s work in this area for the next decade. The Plan, which is available in its entirety on the FWS web site (see below) has three principal goals: 1) Protect, restore, and manage migratory bird populations to maximize their ecological sustainability and socioeconomic benefits; 2) Protect, conserve, and restore migratory bird habitats to ensure long-term sustainability of all migratory bird populations; and 3) Improve hunting, birdwatching, and other outdoor, bird-related experiences and opportunities, and increase awareness of the value of migratory birds for their ecological, recreational and economic significance. In the Plan, the Service acknowledges the lack of information on population status and trends for most migratory birds, and identifies the need to develop statistically rigorous surveys for birds of conservation concern, poorly-known species, and overabundant species. It also identifies the need to protect, restore, and manage priority bird habitats, but includes no budget or explanation for how this work would be expanded over and above current programs, many of which are themselves under-funded. A range of additional, detailed strategies are set out, including those concerning permits and regulations, and cooperation and communication. The public comment period on the draft plan closed in early October. A summary of public input will be presented by the Service at the Migratory Bird Conservation Forum to be held in January, 2004. For more information visit US Fish and Wildlife.
FWS Approves Depradation Order for Killing Cormorants In October 2003, FWS published the final rule for the management of Double-crested Cormorants. After a process that took four years, including open hearings, public comment periods and development of an Environmental Impact Statement, FWS will allow state wildlife agencies, Native American tribes, and USDA’s Wildlife Services (WS) to kill unlimited numbers of cormorants in 24 states where the birds are “injurious to a public resource” (defined as fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats). Unlike the current regulations, no permits will be required to kill birds, destroy their eggs, or disturb their roost or breeding sites. The new rule also expands the current aquaculture depredation order, which has been in place in 13 States since 1998, to allow WS to kill cormorants at winter roost sites in 12 of those states. FWS received more than 9,700 comments on the proposed rule, 85% of which opposed it. ABC, Environmental Defense, the Pacific Seabird Group, and 18 other scientific and conservation organizations had submitted a joint letter opposing the measures as an abdication of FWS responsibility under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and contrary to the service’s own pledge to “pursue management strategies that are biologically justified based on the best available science.” Leading waterbird scientists and conservation groups decry the persecution of cormorants, asserting that the birds are being made scapegoats for fishery declines caused by other factors. Perceived conflicts with sport fish are not a scientific basis for such drastic actions. Under the current system, approximately 47,000 Double-crested Cormorants are killed each year in addition to the destruction of thousands of their eggs. Under the new rule, FWS gives up its individual review authority, and allows state and federal agencies in 24 states to decide when, where, and how many birds they will kill. This new rule, effective November 7, sets a dangerous precedent for other piscivorous birds that are being blamed for fisheries declines. To view the final rule and related documents, visit: http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/issues/cormorant/cormorant.html. Contact: Gerald Winegrad.
(posted 20 November 2003) |